1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an improved system for integrating an automatic outbound dialer with an automatic call distributor and, more particularly, to an improved integrating system to transfer agents between inbound and outbound operation without adversely impacting or losing features provided by the outbound dialer or inbound distributor when operating as a stand alone system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many companies employ both automatic inbound telephone call distributors and automatic outbound dialers. There are a number of presently commercially available inbound systems for directing inbound telephone calls to an available agent. These commercial inbound call distributors provide a range of features extending from relatively simple features to relatively complex. Similarly, commercially available automatic outbound dialers provide features and complexity ranging from relatively simple systems to relatively complex. This invention is directed to integrating a stand alone system designed for inbound operation with a stand alone system designed for outbound operation without adversely affecting the operation or features of either system.
As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, there have been proposals in the prior art to link inbound automatic call distributors and automatic outbound call dialers in order to improve staffing efficiency. An inbound call distributor typically has peaks and valleys in its operation since the demand is generated by outside callers. By linking inbound and outbound call systems, outbound agents can be switched to inbound duty during peak inbound demand periods and switched back to outbound duty during slack periods in inbound demand, thus improving overall staffing efficiency.
Prior art integration proposals generally provide two pools of agents; outbound only agents and universal agents which can be switched between inbound and outbound operation. Inbound overflow traffic from the automatic call distributor is transferred to the automatic call dialer by means of trunks external to the automatic call distributor. The automatic outbound dialer directs the call to a universal agent. While such prior art systems are relatively simple in their implementation, these prior art systems have a number of operational disadvantages. Since inbound overflow calls are switched to the universal agents via trunks, features the automatic call distributor provides when processing an inbound call may be lost. Some things that may be lost include automatic caller number identification, data for report generation, and loss of an inbound call if a universal agent is not available. Further, such prior art integration systems degrade outbound call pacing.